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Guinea

The Republic of Guinea (Republique de Guinee or Guinea-Conakry) is a West African country found on the Atlantic coast. It shares its borders with Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Cote d’Ivoire to the southeast, Liberia to the south, and Sierra Leone to the southwest. The Niger River, the Senegal River, and the Gambia River all run through Guinea. It was formerly known as French Guinea and was under French rule until 1958. Conakry is the economic, financial, and cultural center of Guinea. It is also the largest city in the country. Guinea is the second-largest producer of bauxite. However, its economy is still largely based on subsistence agriculture.

Guinea uses the franc as its currency. One franc is equivalent to 100 centimes. It was used during French rule and was briefly abandoned in 1971 for the syli. However, the franc was reintroduced as the official currency in 1985.

The Banque de la Republique de Guinee (Bank of the Republic of Guinea) was founded in February 1960. It was the central bank of Guinea until 1961. The only family of Guinean franc notes issued by the bank were designed and printed by Statni Tiskarna Cenin and lacked security features. These notes featured President Ahmed Sekou Toure and different cultural and agricultural vignettes.

The Banque Centrale de la Republique de Guinee (Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea) replaced the Bank in July 1961. The Central Bank issued more secure and colorful notes that had similar designs as the 1960 issues.

The syli briefly replaced the Guinean franc. Syli notes bore the date “March 1, 1960”, the year the syli law was passed. Portraits of President Ahmed Sekou Toure were replaced with other anti-colonial African heroes. However, other design elements from the preceding issues were retained.

The Guinean franc was reintroduced in 1985. The first family of reintroduced Guinean franc notes highlighted the country’s cultural heritage and economy. In 2007, the 1,000 franc denomination was introduced due to hyperinflation. In 2010, a commemorative family of notes was issued to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Guinean currency. These notes had the 50th-anniversary logo printed over the watermark area, intaglio printing, and a varnish coating for additional durability. In May 2015, the 20,000 franc note was introduced to ease large transactions. Four years later, the Central Bank introduced the 2,000 and 10,000 franc denominations and revised the 500 franc notes. These new denominations were introduced to address the hyperinflation in Guinea and to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Guinean currency.
 

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